THE HOOD SCOOP: This 1960 Chevy Apache is a familiar Deer Isle sight
By Jenna Lookner
Owner Brian Wright with his fully restored 1960 pickup. Photo by Leslie Cote Hale.
When Brian Wright saw his 1960 Chevy Apache 10 pickup in 2008 he said he was attracted to the style of the truck — produced during a window in American automotive design somewhere between the sweeping curves of earlier American pickups and the introduction of the iconic squarebody style.
“It was in hard shape when I got it,” Wright said. “It definitely needed some TLC. It was the style that got me, I’ve always loved the old stuff but this truck just grabbed me.”
Wright purchased the truck as a project from J.C. Coombs in Stonington. At the time, Wright — a Maryland native with a multi-generational family home on Great Spruce Head Island — was living in Stonington and caretaking properties after a stint in the military.
Wright said he purchased the truck in “sheet white” with the incorrect hood installed. The correct one was included in the purchase and was restored to the vehicle.
He said the truck was driveable, but it was begging for the aforementioned TLC.
“It made it home,” he said. “But you didn’t want to go cruising in it.”
He said the truck started life in Colorado and that he had inspected the important structural elements of the truck prior to purchase.
“I made sure I looked under it,” he said. “The frame was beautiful.”
Wright said he worked with Glen Showers of Deer Isle to fully restore the Chevy over the course of three years. Wright and Showers left no detail untouched.
“I called it the ‘Ugly Duckling to the Swan Project’,” Wright said. “He took the whole truck apart.”
The Chevy Apache was restored to original colors—right down to the fuzzy dice. Photo by Jenna Lookner.
The truck is unusual, Wright noted.
“There are a few of them around,” he said. “Not many, but a handful.”
In a binder, Wright keeps meticulous documentation on his truck including restoration photos and photos others have sent him of similar trucks–such as a shot of one that was being filled with soil for life as a roadside garden planter.
“Can you believe that?” Wright said as he shared the photo.
After taking the truck apart, Wright and Showers uncovered evidence of its original teal blue paint — a popular paint scheme for the marque and era. Wright said Showers researched the vehicle identification number and discovered the original paint code for the truck. They sourced the proper colors and today it sits restored as closely to its original appearance as possible.
“Glen said I had something really special,” Wright said.
Now, the fully restored truck is an eye-catcher around Deer Isle. Wright said people can’t help but smile when they see it.
The Chevy does not have its original engine, and instead is powered by a 400 horsepower Chevy Small Block. It wears a 4-barrel Edelbrock carburetor and has a duel exhaust. The truck is a manual 4-speed transmission with a floor shift, affectionately referred to as “four-on-the floor” by enthusiasts.
Wright said he has once or twice taken his truck to the Sedgwick Fire Department annual benefit show which takes place every July in Blue Hill, and he is excited to show it at Autumn Gold in Ellsworth on Saturday, September 27.
When Showers unveiled the finished restoration, Wright said he was lost for words.
“It just about knocked me over when I saw it,” he said with a smile.
–Jenna Lookner is automobile enthusiast, collector and historian with an automobile museum and auction background. She tells the stories of special automobiles in the area on a regular basis through her column “The Hood Scoop.” If you have a special car you’d like to see profiled, drop her a line at jlookner@risingtide.media.